January 22, 2015

Dirty and crystal clean Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis can be very rock and roll, sometimes extreme, and sometimes brilliant. No doubt these babies will all be pretty different…

Ben Nevis 16 yo 1997/2013 (53,2%, Maltbarn, 91 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: if find this one very grassy and sooty. Bags of cut grass, then apple peelings, green apples, ultra-dry champagne, with in the background, some kind of sour herbs as well as some very dry lemony touches. This baby seems to be very tense and austere. With water: it’s the soot that further stands out, with also gravel and some kind of metallic dust. Even more cut grass as well. Mouth (neat): a rather extreme blend of green apple juice, mustard, and grapefruits, with some peppery sawdust. Very, very austere, a bit like some extreme sauvignon that ‘allows you to double-check the good shape your vertebras when it goes down’. With water: a slightly soapy dustiness, quite ‘Ben Nevis’. Finish: long, rather astringent, grassy and green. Green bananas. Comments: very extreme indeed. For Jansenists, perhaps. SGP:262 - 79 points.

Ben Nevis 18 yo 1996/2014 (50.7%, Liquid Treasures, bourbon hogshead)

Colour: gold. Nose: this time it’s rather a combination of seaweed and fresh butter that we’re nosing, all we’re missing is a dozen oysters. It’s certainly butyric, maybe a little acetic as well, and even a tad metallic, so very ‘Ben Nevis’. Strange and fun spirit. Pleasant notes of cut apples, passion fruits and peaches in the background. A few jelly babies too. Fun indeed. With water: farmy notes, slightly muddy, farmyard after the rain… A lot of cut grass as well. Mouth (neat): strange fruits! Muscatel, passion fruits, peaches again, plus a wee feeling of sawdust and ashes. With water: the lemony flavours woke up! Grapefruits, lemons… All that with an oaky undertone. And drops of ginger ale? Finish: quite long, on ginger tonic and limoncello. Nice cocktail. Comments: a much cleaner, fruitier Ben Nevis. Less challenging than the 1997. SGP:552 - 86 points.

Ben Nevis 18 yo 1996/2014 (50,9%, The Whisky Mercenary for Whisky Troef)

Colour: gold. Nose: this baby’s very extremely close to the previous 1996, except that the passion fruits and maybe notes of melon seem to come earlier. With water: same farmyardy notes. Mouth (neat): very similar again. Passion fruits, peaches, jellybeans, a very wee touch of salt… With water: again, extremely similar. Pink grapefruits, sweets, jell-o, ginger and pepper… The salt is gone, it seems. Finish: rather long, with some tinned fruits, liqueurs, this ginger again, a little quinine perhaps… And a touch of soot. Comments: really very close – so very good, I think. The cleanest side of Ben Nevis. SGP:552 – 86 points.

Ben Nevis 18 yo 1996/2014 (53.1%, Single Cask Collection, sherry butt, 454 bottles)

Colour: amber. Nose: oh this is weird. Metallic oranges? Metal polish blended with peony liqueur (does that even exist?) Old wine vinegar? Some sides remind me of the official 10, I have to say. Plenty of soot, concrete dust, then touches of Tang or Fanta… Very unusual, that’s for sure. With water: the sooty/dusty side comes out more. Whiffs of fresh parsley. Mouth (neat): much less weird. Peppered overripe strawberries, kirsch-filled chocolate, bitter oranges, some kind of caraway-and-grenadine combo… In short, lots happening in this one, but it ain’t dissonant. With water: nice! Orange flavoured Schweppes, some pepper. Finish: rather long. Seville oranges, ginger, white pepper. Comments: we’re close to the style of some OBs. There’s always something happening in a Ben Nevis. SGP:452 - 84 points.

Let’s try to find a much older one as today’s last drop…

Ben Nevis 43 yo 1970/2014 (44.6%, The Nectar of the Daily Drams, bourbon)

1970 used to be a great vintage as far as the officials were concerned, so we’re having deep hopes… Colour: gold. Nose: starts with truckloads of marzipan, fresh almonds, then ‘Seccotine’ glue, kirsch, maraschino, amaretti biscuits, nail varnish… Well, you see what I mean. I’ve rarely come across malt whisky that was that almondy. Mouth: the wood’s talking loud. Plenty of almonds once again, white pepper, bags of cinnamon, these varnishy notes once again, the kirsch as well, some bitter oranges, orange blossom water… Tends to get drying after a few seconds, with this feeling of crunching some cinnamon sticks. Finish: of medium length, with even more cinnamon. It’s a miracle that it isn’t even too drying. Comments: you’ve almost the impression of drinking some oak-aged sloe gin. Interesting, but mixed feelings here… SGP:361 - 81 points.

Pete McPeat and Jack Washback